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splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:40 am

Well I have been meaning to put this up for a while but not got round to it. I have been on the hunt for a reasonably priced split for 3-4 years now never looking too seriously as finance was the limiting factor. At DOVW this year I got talking to Brooksy who said he was looking to sell a split he had, I checked it out the next day and had finalised the deal within the week. Big thanks to Brooksy for letting it go and a huge thanks to Doc and Chocco for the encouragement and final nudge when it came to pulling the trigger and handing over the cash. Some of you will remember this bus from When Morts owned it and it was in the internode add.

Thanks to Morts for these first few 'as found' pics

And after it was cleaned up..... I'm glad it was Morts and not me

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:48 am

As you can see there is plenty of work but the body is really straight so makes it a great starting place. As i mentioned money is a little tight at the moment so progress will be slow doing things as i can afford the parts. First was cutting out the rotten cargo floor,

First cut

Then after the air chisel

RARE OG kombi steel, now on eBay at a bargain price

All the I beams are rotten from the chassis out but I have lined up some OG steel for that, the top hats are all solid but because ALL of the outriggers are toast Im thinking about just replacing them. My thinking is it will be pretty cheap to have them bent up and having them out will make getting the outriggers out and new ones in much easier and faster.

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:54 am

I have just ordered all the steel to build up a dolly like this one from the samba

But before I go rolling it on its side i was wondering with the floor cut out and the bulkhead hacked (see below) do I need to brace up the body? and if so where and how should I brace it?

This had been done previously

ozjeff · Post by **ozjeff** » Wed May 09, 2012 6:05 pm

I would be bracing it, atleast weld a bit of steel bar above the bulk head and maybe one across between the cargo doors, better safe than sorry

Zimblewinder · Post by **Zimblewinder** » Wed May 09, 2012 7:48 pm

Geez it amazing how things travel. Thats my frame design from about 12 years ago. (check my photo in the 23's thread of members rides) Something that photo doesnt show is I put a plate on the other side of the dolly crossbeams too so you can bolt the uprights right or left side and roll either way. Make sure you have one set of locking wheels too as it makes it more stable to get the roll over happening. There is a slot in the upright so you can make sure the top bar is flush against the side panel before tipping it over. If you dont check, you can do damage under the drip rail

You'll like the weight. I work with it right over or at 45degrees. Its pretty stable there too. And I can lift the bus to this position by myself with a little help from my trolley jack to get it started. Conversely you can ease it down to the floor with total control by yourself too (bend ze neez).

catch up if you need any tips.

Cheers
Dale

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Wed May 09, 2012 9:35 pm

Zimblewinder wrote:Make sure you have one set of locking wheels too as it makes it more stable to get the roll over happening. There is a slot in the upright so you can make sure the top bar is flush against the side panel before tipping it over. If you dont check, you can do damage under the drip rail

First of all props for the design, Super simple and if it works as well as people suggest ill be stoked. I have seen in several threads people are not using the top bar to support the body at all (Bluebus has done this with his SC in his thread viewtopic.php?t=14074&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45)

I understand it's a SC so less weight but do you think the upper supports are a "must have"? I have ordered 75mm angle (6mm thick) for the chassis attaching points and 50mm box (3mm thick) for all the frame so it should be pretty rigid.

FrankenCab · Post by **FrankenCab** » Thu May 10, 2012 8:38 am

I'm looking at building similar and have roller setup done just have to do rollover parts and will definately do supports as dont want to take chances of the bus flexing at all

Zimblewinder · Post by **Zimblewinder** » Thu May 10, 2012 9:27 am

Morning. The frame may seem like a solid design but most of the rigidity comes from the bus' chassis (youll see the frame flex a little when you jack it up the first time so always jack it over from a central position on the bottom frame) Mind you I used box section for the base too so it would likely be more rigid than the angle iron you plan to use. The uprights may not be neccessary on an SC but the unsupported weight would be alot more on a bus and I wanted it to rest solidly on the top bar when it was over. Less stress on the frame bolts and frame , less stress on the chassis, potentially more stable etc. When its on its side the upright section is not going to be in your way and then you can easily unbolt it when the buss is upright so no loss in my mind, jsut a few more $ in construction. I guess you could try it but Ive never thought about not having it nor the consequences.

cheers
Dale

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Thu May 10, 2012 10:55 pm

Cheers guys, I decided earlier today that it wasn't worth the risk and have ordered the additional steel. Dale I am using box for the base too, just angle for the chassis to base braces. Thanks again.

Matt

morts · Post by **morts** » Fri May 11, 2012 5:59 pm

Hey Matt, you're setting a cracking pace - it will great to see the old girl get a new lease of life....

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:17 pm

I managed to get a few hours spare over the weekend and now have the engine, box and rear suspension all out ready to make the dolly.

When I pulled the rear torsion bars out they were different colours, the red was passenger side and looked like it was straight from the factory, the black was obviously drivers side and all the paint was flaking off, has someone painted this at some stage?

I also cant get it to come out of the spring plate, I have tried soaking it and whacking it with a hammer but it might need to be pressed out. Im converting to IRS so just leaving it is not an option, any bright ideas other than the press? I do have a spare set from a bus that was stripped and could do a straight swap but remember hearing that different models had different torsions, can anyone explain that further? Also are they left and right, as in, does the drivers side torsion have to go back in the drivers side or does it not matter?

Also managed to clean up a few original parts once I ran out of light in the garage.

FrankenCab · Post by **FrankenCab** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:29 pm

I've found black ones in the earlier busses , and yeah use a press to get it out , u could try heat but it may affect the torsion bar/ spring plate strength

Ian 68 · Post by **Ian 68** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:53 pm

I had to use a press to get mine apart, tried soaking them for ages in WD but no go.

splitthis · Post by **splitthis** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:59 pm

Thanks guys, press it is. I have to do my spindles and the pin in the e-brake handle anyway so I'll do it all at once.

Cam Biscuit · Post by **Cam Biscuit** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 9:33 pm

To me it looks like the red one is a replacement and the other is original....